LeakyCon Remembrance, Day 1: Evil Night!

Exactly one year ago, as I write this, I was on my way to Boston, Massachusetts to attend LeakyCon 2009, the very first conference put on by The Leaky Cauldron. Prior to that, I had only attended one other conference, which was Prophecy 2007 in Toronto, Canada, so I had very high expectations. In many ways, however, it is fundamentally impossible to compare the two.

For any of you that have ever attended a conference put on by the HPEF (Harry Potter Education Fanon), you know that the focus of these conferences has always officially been education. The majority of the programming is composed of lectures that you attend to learn more about Harry Potter’s world. And this is fantastic, and incredibly interesting, but I don’t think I’d be lying when I say that the unplanned shenanigans, as well as informal programming, always tend to steal everyone’s hearts at HPEF conferences.

Back in 2006, when there was so much to discuss, this was a good thing. People wanted to be able to discuss the books, the world, and the fandom, because the series had not ended yet, and there was so much left to speculate about. Even at Prophecy, which was the first conference after the release of Deathly Hallows, there was this overarching need for discussion- to be able to talk and share and learn about what we had all just experienced.

But in the years since, the academic side of Harry Potter has become less and less relevant. Many people have attended all or most of the cons since, but the majority do so just to see and spend time with their friends from around the world. The community became the most important part of the conferences, rather than the academics.

And the thing that, most of all, separates LeakyCon from its HPEF counterparts was that the conference had no pretense of education. The focus, officially and unofficially, was to have fun, rather than to learn, and the conference was structured to be as much fun as possible. Formal programming was still scheduled, and I’m sure that many people did attend, but personally, I only attended one formal programming event, which was a presentation on recording and releasing wizard rock by Paul DeGeorge of Harry and the Potters and a number of other notable wizard rockers. I learned a lot, but it had very little to do with academics.

This was LeakyCon’s biggest strength. It was put on by the fandom, for the fandom. No one is more in touch with what the fandom wants than Leaky, and it never stopped reflecting in the amazing weekend they put on. All of the ‘unofficial’ fun at HPEF’s conferences had become the focusing point for LeakyCon, and this pushed the conference into something beyond anything that I’d ever experienced at Prophecy.

Probably the biggest drawback of the HPEF was that it had never fully appreciated wizard rock. At Prophecy, there was only one wizard rock concert, and only the four biggest bands in the fandom got a chance to play. Of course, this didn’t stop many other bands that didn’t get a chance to play (as well as some that did- I’m looking at you, Alex) from performing unofficially in the Common Room area, but this was all fan organized.

At the official wizard rock show at Prophecy, the walls had to be moved out so that the room could accommodate the unexpectedly massive crowd that had assembled there. Over 800 people attended that concert, even though the sound was poorly done, the lighting was terrible, and the wait was excruciatingly long. I was one of those 800 people, and I had the time of my life. But I couldn’t have comprehended how much better it could’ve been until I attended LeakyCon 2009- a conference where they did everything right.

The people behind LeakyCon completely recognized the importance of wizard rock to their conference, and they wanted it done right. So they hired Matt Maggiacomo of the Whomping Willows, and Paul DeGeorge of Harry and the Potters to take care of their live sound. Says DeGeorge, “Most cons don’t understand what is necessary for producing really killer rock shows and they don’t invest the time to learn or the money to hire the right people to execute. They think their job is done once they’ve announced the lineups. In my experience, LeakyCon has been the ONLY exception to this, and a big part of it is because they worked closely with Matt and myself and actually used our advice rather than ignoring it.”

Melissa Anelli and her ragtag gang of badasses couldn’t have made a better decision. Unlike Prophecy, which had only one wrock show, LeakyCon had three. Each of these shows clocked in at four hours each. And that’s not counting the performances that were part of programming- such as Ministry of Magic’s performance on PotterCast, the epic musical that was The Fountain of Fair Fortune, and House of Black’s performance on AlleyCast. If there was one thing and one thing only to be said about LeakyCon, it’s that there was no shortage of wizard rock.

The official wizard rock programming was divided in three: Evil Night, Wizard Rock Night, and Wizard Rock in the Afternoon. This system worked out brilliantly, because the wizard rock fit in around everything else. For example, Evil Night began directly after the Opening Feast, meaning that no one had to go anywhere, and that essentially the first thing we were treated to (besides the delicious feast) was four amazing bands!

Evil Night featured Swish and Flick, Justin Finch-Fletchley, the Parselmouths, and Draco and the Malfoys. And even though JFF was definitely the odd man out in this scenario, he wrocked harder than everyone. It was a smashing success, and it set the tone for the rest of the conference: all of the bands played their hearts out and just had a fantastic time with what they were doing. There really were no holds barred.

Each band had its own strength: Swish and Flick had their stage antics, while Brian Malfoy’s guitar solos melted faces in JFF’s set. Meanwhile, the Parselmouths changed their lyrics to make fun of Alex Day, and finally Draco and the Malfoys had their incredibly strange and incredibly wonderful bluegrass set. There was something for absolutely everyone, and this was only the BEGINNING.

Look for tomorrow’s article about Day Two of Leakycon!

11 responses to “LeakyCon Remembrance, Day 1: Evil Night!”

  1. Julia Avatar

    Wow, I can’t believe it’s already been a year since Leakycon.

    One thing I would like to say about your is that while formal programing wasn’t the highlight at LeakyCon, what there was was certainly nothing to slouch at. Dinah and Freya’s Wizard Rock panel was one of the highlights of the con for me, and (if I may say so) my presentation on Fawkes’ role in the series was pretty badass (or at least, the room was packed and everyone participated in an awesome discussion after I was done with my paper).

    So yes, Evil Night. I seem to remember that people threw bras at Flick. I also remember that everyone’s jaw dropped when Brian brought out that acoustic bass. I kept waiting for them to pull out the electric guitars, but then I realized they weren’t going to, and I was like “Holy shit, they’re really gonna play an entire set bluegrass. AWESOME.” That was the night I named Brad’s banjo (it was made on a goat farm, I named it Aberforth) and the first time I heard “This Land Is My Land.” Awesome night.

    I hope tomorrow’s article will focus a little more on the Wizard Rock rather than the rest of the con, because WRock Night was one of the best nights Wizard Rock has ever seen.

  2. Penguin1124 Avatar
    Penguin1124

    LeakyCon was my first convention. I loved it. It was indescribably amazing. I did go to a fair amount of formal programming; a few on Wizard Rock, a few that the HPA did, a drawing class that Frak gave (that was just an amusing hour), and one on PotterCast. Everything that happened in those was amazing, but really, the highlight for me of Leaky was the Wizard Rock. I met so many AMAZING people that weekend because of the shows. Leaky could not have been better…except if MoM had played a real set, but I am not complaining. The acoustic set was great.

  3. Amanda Rumm Avatar
    Amanda Rumm

    Oh, brilliant. That was just brilliant. I don’t know how much more I could possibly regret not attending this conference. Everything you, my other friends, various celebrities, etc. have said about it, makes me cringe with envy. It sounds amazing. And it’s great that it’s being covered here in full. I simply can’t wait for tomorrow’s edition.

    And congratulations on your first ‘pedia article. It was wonderful :]

  4. Jarrod Avatar
    Jarrod

    That Malfoys set was one of the best I’ve ever seen. Quite an experience to be there for it.

  5. Camie Avatar

    Seeing the Malfoys play an entire set Bluegrass was probably one of the most unexpected, but most amazing things I have ever seen at a con. Seriously, these guys know their art. I thought it was great that they were bring a different style of music to the fandom. When I saw who was chilling around during the welcome feast, I was pretty sure what was going to happen during the Malfoys set. I was extremely excited and the set did not disappoint. That entire group of guys really know how to jam it out. They are all very talented, and it was an honor to see that performance.

    Justin’s set that night was amazing as well. It was probably the best I have ever seen from him playing with a full band.

    It was also a blast to be a part of Swish and Flick’s set. Being up there (in a too short skirt) waving pompoms around was really fun.

  6. Whompy Avatar
    Whompy

    Thanks for this, Brad! I remain very proud of what we accomplished at LeakyCon 2009. When they asked me to run wizard rock, my one requirement was that we’d do it right. Melissa, Stephanie, and MJ gave me all the resources and support I needed to do it right, because they truly understand how important wizard rock is to this fandom. It all boils down to this: Leaky is the best. I love HPEF and I think they do a stellar job putting on academic cons, and Jenn Clack from HPEF even pitched in with some advice when I was choosing a sound company for Evil Night and Rock Night. Ultimately though, LeakyCon has been my favorite big-event experience so far, and I think it all begins with Melissa, Stephanie, and MJ.

  7. Denni Towle Avatar

    I know this isn’t the forum for this but…the time has finally arrived…with the release of “New Wizard Order”, The Cruciatus Curse is finally retiring from Wizard Rock. We would like to thank all of our dear fans for the last 5 glorious years! We will never forget ! In the imortal words of Draco and the Malfoys “Party Like Your Evil”!

    I also want to thank Matt from The Whomping Willows for setting me straight on a couple occasions, Brian and Brad for being evilly awesome! Also to Erin Pyne of the House of Black for setting up my very first show down in Orlando in 2008, and to all the other bands I have had the pleasure of knowing for the past 5 years! Thank you all!

    An…d also don’t forget…READ BOOKS OR I’LL CURSE YOU!

    Denni Towle

  8. Maggie Avatar

    Several thoughts.
    1) NOSTALGIA OMG.
    2) Brad, thank you for writing this.
    3) “Melissa Anelli and her ragtag gang of badasses” would be a sweet band name.
    4) Julia’s talk on Fawkes was fab.
    5) LeakyCon was my first convention, as well, and set a ridiculously high standard. I attended a pretty healthy mix of academic stuff and fandom stuff. The balance was good, and it seemed that the variety of events was appealing across many demographics.
    6) And, even without previous cons for comparison: The LeakyCon staff, from MJ to all the volunteers, was INCREDIBLE. Every time (every *single* time) I had a question, someone was there, smiling, in a staff shirt, to help me. If they didn’t know the answer they called someone or went to find out.
    7) July 2011 baby!

  9. Clare Avatar

    “3) “Melissa Anelli and her ragtag gang of badasses” would be a sweet band name.”

    HECK YEAH! Someone get on it! I expect to see them live at Leakycon 2011!

  10. Melissa Avatar

    How is it possible I have only just seen this? And how did I not know that I should call the Leaky staff my RAGTAG TEAM OF BADASSES at all things forever now?

    Thank you guys, so much, for this series of articles remembering LeakyCon and for all you do. I promise LeakyCon II will only build on the first.

    xo

  11. Melissa Avatar

    Excuse me, ragtag BAND of badasses. 🙂

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